The present embodiments relate to a cooling zone integrated into a refrigerator appliance, and particularly, but not limited to, a cooling zone in a fresh-food compartment of a refrigerator.
Users often allow hot food and/or pans to cool before placement into refrigerators to reduce the likelihood of warming and/or spoiling of adjacent foods. However, this practice often may increase the likelihood of bacteria forming in the hot food and/or pans left at room temperature to cool. Room temperature cooling increases the time span that bacteria in the pans/object may more readily form, e.g., temperatures between about 40 degrees Fahrenheit and 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Thus, there is a need to rapidly cool objects, for example, such as food, beverages, and/or containers, etc., within a refrigerator to reduce the bacteria forming temperature time span, as well as simplify the user's interaction and identification of a targeted cooling zone therein.